4 QB’s That Refused To Retire
NFL | February 24, 2021
Remember that old Boyz II Men song “Its so hard to say goodbye to yesterday”? That song is appropriate for this article! Here are four quarterbacks who were great in their prime, but ended up hurting their respective teams by refusing to retire!
4. Brett Favre
We know, we know. You are shocked to see the legendary gunslinger himself, Brett Favre, make this list. Yes, Favre was an amazing QB in his prime. Heck, he even brought a Super Bowl Title back to Green Bay in 1996 after a long 29-year drought!
However, we cannot forget the fact that Favre refused to “ride off into the sunset” when it was clear that Aaron Rodgers was the QB of the future in Green Bay. A good time to call it quits would have been after the 2005 season when Favre led the league with 29 interceptions. Favre went on the have a couple of good seasons with the Jets and the Vikings, but he definitely derailed the Pack for a period of time with his indecisive off-seasons!
3. Troy Aikman
WHAT! Another Hall-of-Famer on this list? You have to be kidding! Nope, check out Aikman’s stats from 1996-2000. Yes, Aikman was one heck of a playmaker during the Cowboys dynasty of three Super Bowl wins in the 90’s!
But after the final Super Bowl victory, good ol’ #8’s numbers took a sharp nosedive! In ’96, Aikman had more picks than touchdown passes! You may also be shocked to know that in Aikman’s final four seasons his record was a pedestrian 24-28! It seems as if the Cowboys and Aikman had a hard time letting go.
2. Eli Manning
It is admirable that Eli Manning spent 16 straight seasons with the New York Football Giants. Manning brought two Lombardi trophies to New York and that is an amazing accomplishment. However, Eli simply hung on too long and held the franchise hostage.
Manning led the league in interceptions in 2013 with 27! He followed that up with back to back 6-10 campaigns in 2014 and 2015. It was definitely time for the Giants and Eli to both move on, but Manning stayed with the Giants until after the 2019 season.
1. Ben Roethlisberger
There is no denying that BIG Ben has had a fabulous career with the Pittsburgh Steelers! The 6-5 240 pounder has won the franchise two Super Bowls and should be a first ballot Hall of Famer. However, it would be best for the Steelers franchise if Big Ben would retire quietly.
What hurts the Steelers the most is the way that Roethlisberger’s contract is written. The franchise will owe BIG Ben over 41 MILLION dollars if he comes back for the 2021 season! Roethlisberger may have a bit left in the tank, but 41 million for a soon-to-be 39-year old QB would be a disaster for the Steelers as a franchise. That huge number alone could wind up eating 33% of the Steeler’s overall salary cap!
Tags: Boyz II Men | Eli Manning
